


Snow Angel

by Serie11



Series: Femslash February 2018 [21]
Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Canon Compliant, Cute, F/F, Post-Canon, The Frozen Wilds Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 17:29:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13792596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/pseuds/Serie11
Summary: Aloy tried not to cry out in some sort of combination of fear and surprise when the woman gave her the baby, and then disappeared down the slipwire into the valley.“Hmph. Just like you two girls to go against traditions,” Lauvuk said. “You’d better hurry – I think I can see the snowcloud of a hunting party.”





	Snow Angel

 

Aloy rolled out of the way of the bellowback, whistling to keep its attention as she sprinted away. She didn’t want it going after Ikrie, after all – the other woman had to freeze it so Aloy could shoot it down.

She couldn’t waste any arrows, so Aloy ran and jumped and lured the bellowback around the arena. Ikrie threw an ice bomb and it exploded over the bellowbacks head, finally freezing the machine in place.

Aloy took advantage of the few seconds she had while the bellowback twisted awkwardly and tried to start moving again after being frozen. She couldn’t hit the massive weak points on the machine, since they would explode with fire and end up getting rid of the ice that was coating the metal and making it fragile. She’d already shot off the casing that covered the power cells in its belly – now she just had to hit them.

She sprinted off to the side, trying to get a good angle. Sliding in closer, she shot off two hardpoint arrows and then a third, and fourth arrow. All of them lodged into the power cells, and the bellowback fell, destroyed.

Ikrie let out a whoop from her rock. “Nice going Aloy!”

“Thanks,” Aloy said back, putting her hands on her knees and panting. It was always a chore to dodge a bellowback, but doing it with limited arrows was even more taxing than normal.

“You ready to call it a day?”

Aloy jogged over to her girlfriend’s side. “Yeah. The sun’s going down, and it’s always freezing out here at night.”

Ikrie huffed, nudging at her shoulder a little. “Freezing! It’s not cold here, even on the bitterest of nights.”

Aloy rolled her eyes, already having heard this a thousand times. “It’s colder in Ban-Ur, I know, I know. Does that mean you’re not going to keep me warm tonight?”

A gleam entered Ikrie’s eye. “Well… I didn’t say that.”

Laughing, they hiked back up to the overlook where Ikrie’s tent was. Even though Aloy travelled around the Cut as well as through Carja and Nora territories, Ikrie was still staying here for now. She said that she still needed to figure out what she wanted to do, now that she wasn’t part of a werak and didn’t want to go back to Ban-Ur.

Aloy was headed back to cauldron Epsilon at CYAN’s request after the AI had detected some unusual movement inside. After it had exploded CYAN no longer had access to many parts of the facility, so Aloy had said that she would look around inside to ease the AI’s mind.

But tonight she would stay with Ikrie, because she missed her when they weren’t together. Even though the cold wind was whipping through her hair and making her ears freeze, she still felt warm whenever Ikrie smiled at her.

They got to the top of the rise, Lauvuk sitting in her customary place, waiting to receive challengers. However, she wasn’t alone.

A woman was standing in front of her. Lauvuk was shaking her head. Aloy and Ikrie looked at each other at the same time, then together moved towards the two women.

“… please, they’re coming.”

“I can’t move from this post,” Lauvuk said, voice gruffer than normal. “And werak business is werak business.”

Feeling a familiar anger starting to burn inside her, Aloy marched up to the pair. “What’s going on?”

The woman turned. Her lips were blue with cold, and she was holding a bundle close to her chest. “Please,” she said. “You have to help me.”

The sheer anomaly of a Banuk asking for help momentarily put Aloy off guard. Then she realised that the bundle was in fact a child, and her heart somehow melted and hardened at the same time.

“What do you need?” Ikrie asked.

“My werak is tracking me. I could avoid them alone, but Yariki cannot stand the cold like I can. Please, can you take her, and meet me at Song’s Edge? I’m aiming to flee to Carja or Nora lands.”

“Certainly,” Ikrie said staunchly. “We will meet you just south of Song’s Edge, understood?”

“Thank you,” the woman said, clearly trying not to cry. Aloy tried not to cry out in some sort of combination of fear and surprise when the woman gave her the baby, and then disappeared down the slipwire into the valley.

“Hmph. Just like you two girls to go against traditions,” Lauvuk said. “You’d better hurry – I think I can see the snowcloud of a hunting party.”

Aloy couldn’t see anything in the direction she was looking, but Ikrie sucked in a breath. “You’re right.” She levelled a look at Lauvuk. “They will track her through here. Will you tell them about us?”

Lauvuk regarded Ikrie for a few seconds. “No,” she finally said, shaking her head. “The cold must be finally getting to me.”

“Thank you,” Aloy said stupidly, still holding the baby. She felt like she couldn’t move – what if she hurt it? Weren’t you like, meant to hold a baby’s head in some way? She didn’t know what way.

“Aw, isn’t she cute?” Ikrie said fondly. She knelt down and pulled a few extra pieces of fabric out of her pack and quickly fashioned a sling. Taking the baby from Aloy, she put her into the sling.

“You’re better with a bow than I am,” Ikrie explained. “You can be our vanguard, and I can carry the precious cargo.”

“Ah… okay,” Aloy said, while trying to rectify the images of Ikrie and a baby in her mind. Her mind wasn’t cooperating, instead giving her mostly static with a few warm feelings every now and then.

“Aloy!” Ikrie snapped. “We’ve got to move, or those hunters will see us leave, and might send a party after us to ask questions.”

“Right.” Aloy shook her head. “Okay, the fastest way is going to be to go down via the dam. We can cut across to the river and then follow it.”

“Lead the way,” Ikrie said.

Jogging down from the hunting grounds, Aloy made sure she was on the lookout for the tiniest of movements, her bow already in her hand, ready for action. Ikrie followed half a dozen steps behind, walking where Aloy walked.

“You took up the offer to help that woman very quickly,” Aloy pointed out. “Not a criticism, just an observation.”

Ikrie was quiet for a few steps. “You’re always talking about the people that you help. And I’ve been thinking a lot, when you aren’t around. I’ve never been one to agree with Banuk customs, but I’ve never really acted out against them. Even now, I stay in the Cut when I could be travelling by your side throughout this area and beyond. So I just… wanted to prove that I’m separate from them, now. I’m not a Banuk anymore, and I don’t want to be. But I guess if I still act like it, then that’s just what everyone is going to assume.” She laughed. “I was following in your snow steps.”

Aloy felt herself blush. “I’m glad that you’re thinking about this. And you’re welcome to come with me, whenever you want, okay? I’d be really happy to have you at my side.”

“Thank you,” Ikrie said softly.

They made it to the dam, dodging around some longlegs, and Aloy made them cross to the other side, knowing that there was a group of frostclaws and watchers on this side, but only some lancehorns that they could sneak around on the other. It started snowing lightly just after the sun set, and Aloy slowed their pace. Even if she was a good shot with a bow, she didn’t want to engage in any combat. Stealth was the flavour of the night.

They made it to the overflow basin, and Aloy tread across the bridge, eyes peeled in search of snapmaws. There was some in the lake like normal, but none on the banks, which meant that they could slip by silently. The blue light from the lanterns overhead made the path easy to discern.

Just before they entered Song’s Edge, Ikrie pulled back. “You should go on by yourself,” she said. “Everyone knows who you are, and they’ll be likely to note someone beside you. I can walk through on my own, and not talk to anyone – hopefully no one will mark me if they’re all talking about your entrance.”

“Are you sure?” Aloy asked.

“Yes,” Ikrie said. “Now, go!”

Heart in her mouth, Aloy leaned forward to give Ikrie a quick kiss before jogging towards the settlement. She made sure to greet the people she passed and hoped that Aratak wasn’t in town.

Luck wasn’t on her side however, as she saw the chieftain as soon as she came up to the main part of Song’s Edge.

“Aloy!” he called.

She headed over to him, hoping that she could distract him, at least, from seeing Ikrie.

“Was CYAN’s business so quickly completed?”

Aratak had been the one to tell her that CYAN wanted to talk to her. “No,” Aloy shook her head. “But something came up… I’m planning on heading to the cauldron as soon as I can, though.”

Aratak frowned. “If CYAN has an issue, then it is our duty to solve it as quickly as we can. If you are delayed, then I would be glad to lead a party of hunters.”

“CYAN didn’t say what the problem was, exactly,” Aloy told him. “But she can talk to me, when I get inside the facility. That means that I can ask her questions and tell her what I find.”

“I am still troubled that she can talk to you there and not us,” Aratak rumbled. “Many of my tribesmen are having difficulties in understanding what she tells us. Even I… who wishes to know her the most.”

Aloy shifted her weight from foot to foot. She had been letting CYAN set the pace for how she revealed herself to the Banuk, and things had been going… well, not steadily, but they had been going.

“She would talk to you to, if she could,” Aloy said. “She probably likes you more than me, I think.”

Aratak shook his head. “You do not need to placate me. I know that you share a unique bond with CYAN. Are you certain that I can be of no use to you in helping her?”

“Just have your scouts be on the lookout for fireclaws and anything unusual,” Aloy said. “I know it doesn’t feel like much, but an early warning can mean all the difference.”

Aratak nodded. “Well, then I wish you well in your travels and the task that takes you from our lands.”

Aloy passed through the rest of Song’s Edge quickly, greeting those along the way but not stopping to chat with any of them. Hopefully Ikrie had passed through while Aloy was talking to Aratak.

The border guards called their farewells after her, and Aloy itched to ask them if Ikrie has passed through, but she didn’t want to call any attention to her. If the woman had done something to anger her werak, then Aloy was certain that Song’s Edge would not side with her.

The snow on this side of the gate was fresh except for one set of footprints. Aloy tagged them and then followed them down into the valley. They left the path, and Aloy looked up to see Ikrie sitting underneath a tree bowed down with snow.

Aloy made her way over to sit next to her. “We should be able to see anyone coming up or down the path from here,” Ikrie said. Aloy nodded.

“How’s the baby?”

“She’s just fine. Very well behaved, hasn’t cried at all, and we’ve been running around all night.” Ikrie sighed. “Will you hold her for a minute?”

“Uhhh,” Aloy said. Ikrie took that as a yes, because she handed over the baby. Aloy held her gingerly.

“You don’t need to be so precious about it,” Ikrie said, amused. “Just hold her head like this.” She adjusted Aloy’s grip. “And then keep her body in line with the head, and you’re fine.”

“She looks very fragile,” Aloy admitted.

“She’s pretty big, so you don’t need to be extremely careful,” Ikrie pointed out. She paused. “Wait… have you held a baby before?”

“No,” Aloy admitted. “It was just Rost and me for most of my life, and when I finally started talking to other people it wasn’t like they were throwing babies at me.”

Ikrie laughed. “No wonder you looked so spooked. It’s not a big deal just – hold her. Just like that.”

Aloy peered down into the child’s face. She was sleeping, and her eyelashes her long and dark against her cheeks. She had a tiny wisp of hair peeking out from the wrappings that are keeping her warm. Aloy couldn’t help but be a little in awe of her.

“See? That’s alright.”

Aloy looked up to see Ikrie looking at her warmly, smile small but genuine. Aloy smiled back.

They only had to wait for about an hour before the woman rushed down the path, clearly searching for them. Aloy called her over, and she reclaimed her baby from the warm spot she’d been making against Aloy’s chest. Aloy leaned after her a little, but didn’t protest. After all, she’s only had the baby for a few hours – how would her mum feel?

“Yariki, my darling,” she cooed over the bundle. “Thank you, thank you so much. I was able to lose the others in Thunderjaw Valley, after I set the thunderjaw on them… It gave me enough time to make it here before the rumours did.”

“Thank you for letting us help,” Ikrie said. “Do you need anything else? Where are you going?”

“Meridian,” the woman said. “I’ll just… have to make it up from there, I suppose.”

“Here,” Aloy said. She handed over all the rations that she was carrying. “Take these. And when you get to Meridian, find Erend, the leader of the vansguard, and tell him that Aloy sent you. He’ll see that you’ll get help.”

“Thank you,” the woman said, clearly awestruck. “I cannot say how grateful I am. No Banuk would have done this for me.”

“Good thing we aren’t Banuk then,” Ikrie said. She hesitated for a moment. “Would you mind if I came with you? I’ve been meaning to go to Meridian, and you shouldn’t travel alone.”

The woman clearly didn’t know what to say. “Yes… yes, of course, you are welcome.”

Ikrie turned to Aloy. “Go and do your thing for CYAN,” she said softly. “I’ll be waiting for you in Meridian, I promise. I want to take the test of these new lands… but I think, at first, I need to do it alone.”

Aloy hugged her tightly. “Okay, just – remember that you aren’t alone, not anymore. You don’t have to do it by yourself.”

Ikrie grinned at her and leaned in for a kiss. Aloy sighed against her lips.

“I know, and I appreciate it. After you get to Meridian, I’ll be more than happy to take my place beside you.” She looked at Aloy searchingly. “Wherever that may lead.”

Aloy managed to nod, and watched as the pair made their way down the valley. She was grateful that the woman wouldn’t have to travel alone, but selfishly, she wanted more time with Ikrie.

Aloy sighed to herself. She could go and investigate whatever was happening in Epsilon, and then she would meet up again with Ikrie, with all haste. That, she could promise herself.

**Author's Note:**

> Today's prompt was: accidental baby acquisition. I like this ficlet, it's very cute, isn't it?


End file.
